The Power to Heal
by Yuechum
Summary: Zeref was not always known as the Black Wizard. Once in a time long past, he was gifted with the power to heal. (*Spoilers: Chapter 436)


Hello! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed "Wind Chimes," it was my first Fanfiction, and the reviews/favorites mean so much!

*SPOILERS TO CHAPTER 436*

The new development in the manga is just wonderful, I just had to write more on Natsu and Zeref! Thank you again for all the reviews and favorites, I hope you enjoy this one as well!

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Slight crumpling of leaves could be heard as Zeref walked quietly along the meadow. He was searching for his younger brother who happened to let curiosity get the best of him, wandering off too far into the forest. Twisting through the labyrinth of curling branches, Zeref felt his eyes widen and relief flood his chest at the sight in front of him. Natsu Dragneel, the young boy with stunning salmon colored hair, sat in the middle of the fresh water stream, sniffling softly.

"Natsu? Thank goodness, you had me worried there! You can't just go off on yo-" Zeref stopped when his initial relief had faded to open his senses. Natsu was crying profusely by this point, his nose already running quickly.

Before Zeref could even run up to Natsu, the younger brother had already jumped. (How he had such strength in his legs, Zeref would never know.) Both brothers tumbled across the grass, and Zeref felt his toga become moist with a combination of stream water, tears, and to his dismay, snot as well.

"B-brother! I'm s-sorry, but there was a r-rock, and I f-fell!" Natsu said with chattering teeth.

Seeing a shivering Natsu in front of him, Zeref quickly went into a protective-brother mode, and wrapped his toga around the younger. Luckily, his injuries from the fall were not too severe, but the chance of infection was always there. Zeref quickly ran through the forest, and to his luck, his genius mind had already mapped out the exit from the previous search. Once both brothers arrived at their cottage, Zeref quickly went to work. His curiosity was limitless, it seemed that Natsu had shared this trait as well, and had read a few books on the recent advancements on medicine. Gathering warm cloth, he cleaned the wounds, ignoring the slight hisses Natsu made, to see that the wound was not as bad as he had initially thought. At the realization, Zeref had released a breath he had not known he was holding, to softly place a wrapping on the wound. He looked up at his brother to say he was done, but was caught with surprise at the soft pout and blushing cheeks of his brother.

"Natsu? What's wrong? Your wound is going to be all better soon!"

"...Can...can you..." Natsu seemed to hesitate, while his cheeks only became an even more fierce shade of red.

"You can ask anything of me. I'm your older brother, you know?" Zeref offered a warm smile, one that could match with the warmth of summer, just as the one that Natsu was named after.

"Yes...could you...kiss it better? Mama did that, and I saw other people doing that too..b-but you don't have to! It's a weird question..." Natsu trailed off, voice getting increasingly quieter.

"..." Silence. Zeref blankly stared at Natsu, seeming to have been frozen, while Natsu fidgeted nervously under the stare.

"It's weird, I know! You don't have to do it!" Natsu attempted to look angry, but his childish face only produced a large pout.

As if time had suddenly been activated again, Zeref released a hearty laugh, one that even Natsu had not heard too often. Natsu's eyes widened, and he quickly protested, misunderstanding the laugh as mocking. However, the laughter was anything but. Closing his eyes, Zeref placed a soft kiss on Natsu's bandaged knee, and lowered his head.

"My lord, how I must apologize for my actions. It was horribly rude of me to have laughed. I am deeply sorry. But I must ask of you, is your wound better? I have used a...kind of magic you see. Not one that is visible to the human eye, nor one that you will learn about in Mildian Magic Academy either. It is a magic of the heart, my dear lord."

Natsu in response just gaped with eyes the size of saucers. For a minute, he could not produce a coherent response. But slowly, his gaping mouth turned up at the sides, and melted into a toothy grin. His tears vanished with his laughing eyes, and he huffed his chest haughtily.

"Hehe, of course! I may not know of this magic you speak of, but you indeed are speaking the truth! Why, I believe there would be no wound if I were to unravel this bandage...which I will not however. You, my comrade, will be a powerful mage, one that no human will be able to defeat!"

Looking at each other, the two brothers couldn't help but notice their twitching smiles, and both quickly dissolved into laughter. The sun was beginning to set, and the day was going to end soon.

"Shall we, my lord?"

"Of course! Of to bed, we go!"

That night, the sky was filled with magnificent stars, and the moon was shining brightly on the lands of the Earth. 400 years later, Zeref Dragneel would continue to gaze upon that night sky, in solitude for many more years to come. A melancholy would settle in his chest, and he would realize, just how correct Natsu's words at that time were.

" _You, my comrade, will be a powerful mage, one that no human will be able to defeat!"_


End file.
